ABCD Glossary

Guide to the content of each field in each table

In the following detailed notes explaining the content of each field in each table, the tables are listed in the numbered order in which they appear in XXXX. The field names for each table are given, together with a brief description of their attributes. Note that, as a rule, '?' or '??' is used in any alphanumeric field where information is either missing from a report or could not easily be determined during abstracting.

I. ABSITES

...provides some very basic information on the archaeological sites

absite: name of the excavated site and the date of the excavation
location: the nearest modern settlement, usually a village or town (for rural sites), or the modern town or city in which the site was located (for urban sites)
categ: a phrase describing the archaeological site type such as 'hill fort', 'occupation site', 'monastic site'; a coded version of this is given for individual species lists in sitetype in REPLISTS
notes: notes relating to the excavation techniques or conditions, the sampling methodology or the archaeology
period: period(s) covered and/or the date range of the site, in words; a coded version of this appears at the level of individual species lists indatecode in REPLISTS
topog: topographical location of the site, at the time of formation of the archaeological deposits, including any other relevant information given in the report; not coded (e.g. coastal, hill top, gravel river terrace, lowland)
cond: condition of site at the time of the excavation, e.g. under water, waterlogged or dry; two-letter code
gridsq: 100 km grid square reference given as both letters and numbers, e.g. SK 43; for users of the Environmental Archaeology Bibliography (EAB), 100 m grid co-ordinates are given in table SITES (these should be available in future releases of the ABCD)

II. ABREPRTS

...gives details of each archaeobotanical report

report: a numerical code for each botanical report, used to link this table with two other tables in the ABCD (and to link the ABCD to the EAB)
absite: site name -- relates to site in ABSITES
pubdate: the year the work was published
reptype: the type of report, i.e. what type of material was analysed; a one-letter code (where separate reports on different classes of material appear together in a publication, e.g. reports on charcoal and on 'seeds', they will usually be given separate report numbers)

III. REPLISTS

...links ABREPRTS (via report) to TAXLISTS (via list); two fields give additional information about each list

datecode: the date(s) of the list(s) of plant taxa given in TAXLISTS; more than one code can be used and these are separated by a full stop '.' or a colon ':'
sitetype: two-letter code; more than one code can be used and these are separated with a '/'

IV. TAXLISTS

...stores, for each list of taxa, any number of plant identifications and additional information about these identifications

list: taxon list number: the report number plus a letter to distinguish the list. Thus 1001a, 1001b and 1001c are the three list numbers for report 1001. This field links to list in REPLISTS (and hence to ABREPRTS and ABSITES)
N.B. For some sites, published data are compounded, such that the taxa from more than one sample for a given site are combined together into a single list (see sno in SAMPLES). The compound lists may thus represent all taxa from a given phase or group of related samples.
In future releases of the ABCD it is hoped to indicate which lists are compound and eventually to include all lists for all samples, as originally published or as available from the data archives of the worker concerned.
quant: quantification either as a number (up to 9,999) or a code indicating abundance, such as, p = present, +++ = abundant
part: three-letter code indicating the plant part, such as, pro = propagules or 'seeds'; (this field links to the PARTS table)
pres: mechanism by which the plant material is preserved, indicated by a one-letter code
prob: problem code; for explanation, see PROBS table
name: taxon name in, conforming to the names in CHECKLST; if in the report the taxon was given as 'spp.' (i.e. possible that more than one species is represented) then this will be indicated in PROBS, as will any other nomenclatural deviation from CHECKLST
abund: abundance code: a five-point scale converted from the actual numbers of remains recorded

V. WORKED

...links ABREPRTS to details of the archaeobotanists in WHOSWHO

report: botanical report number
init: initials of workers

VI. WHOSWHO

...gives details of archaeobotanists

init: initials of workers (links to WORKED)
info: full name and some indication of the place(s) and dates each person was working when the analyses published in the report were undertaken; this information is sometime difficult to deduce from the report as published

VII. CONTEXTS

...gives details about the context(s) from which the sample(s) came

list: taxon list number (see TAXLISTS)
cnumber: context number(s), as published; this may sometimes be a phase or trench number
N.B. The word context here is being used in its loose sense; it does not necessarily relate to a single archaeological context
type: context type description, in a minimum number of words, e.g. pit fill
integrity: context integrity code, on a scale of 0 to 3:

0: integrity cannot be judged
1 (low): the material is not from a well-defined context, the archaeology is not particularly clear, or there is doubt about the sampling methods; samples may not relate to the archaeologist's contexts, layers or phasing
2 (medium): the context is from a clearly-defined feature (or features) and the archaeology is clear but there is no indication that the context was particularly well sealed; there may be evidence from artefacts, for example, that the context contained re-worked materials
3 (high): it is clear that the context is well sealed and clearly defined and the archaeological methodology was good; chance of contamination very low

cpres: preservation regime of material in the context

an: anaerobic (but not 'waterlogged')
bu: burnt material
de: desiccated
im: impression
mn: mineralised
mx: mixed material
nr: not recorded
si: silicified
wl: anoxic 'waterlogged'
??: unknown

sediment: sediment or 'soil' description, quoting directly from the report
cperiod: cultural period/date for the context, using the terminology given by the excavator
begin: 'begin date' -- the earliest likely date of the context, given in absolute terms, using a minus sign for years BC; thus, 450 BC to AD 750 is recorded as begin date = -450, end date = 750. Where a radiocarbon date is used the date range will be given as twice the standard error, which is not far off the true 95% confidence limits. Thus '1400+/-40 BC' would be quoted as begin date = -1480 and end date = -1320. This uses calibrated dates where possible
end: end date -- the latest likely date (cf. begin)
method: main dating method(s) used for dating the contexts -- the dating evidence (e.g. radiocarbon assay) may not necessarily come from the actual layer which was sampled, but sufficiently near to it to be related/associated
validity: validity of the dating (irrespective of the date range shown in the begin/end fields), on a four-point scale; note, this will often be an interpretation of the evidence given in the report:

0: validity of dating cannot be judged from the report
1 (poor accuracy of dating): the dating has been determined using stratigraphic relationship alone and the limits are only probable
2 (medium): the dating has been determined using more than one independent method (e.g. stratigraphy plus artefact evidence) and the limits are reasonable; if there is a radiocarbon date from associated contexts, the validity would be medium
3 (high): the dating has been determined using good stratigraphic and artefact evidence or good radiocarbon dating, or preferably both; the probability that the plant material is within the begin and end date limits is very high (contexts will rarely be given this high score!)

env: environmental interpretation, mainly taken from the report
arch: archaeological interpretation -- notes on the interpretation of the context from the archaeological evidence
tycode: four-letter codes for context type

VIII. SAMPLES

...details about samples and sampling methods

list: taxon list number (see TAXLISTS)
notaxa: total number of taxa in the list
sno: number of samples combined in the list (see note under list for TAXLISTS, above)
ssize: three-point scale (a-c) represents the following:

a: small samples, of the order of 0.5 kg or less
b: medium samples, of the order of 0.5-5 kg
c: large, usually bulk-sieved, samples and combined data

cno: total number of contexts represented by the taxon list
stype: type of sample:

c: charcoal and wood identifications
g: charred grain
p: pollen
i: impressions
m: macrofossils
q: not classified

Note: this may duplicate the information under reptype in ABREPRTS, but is used for each list rather than whole reports. For example, if one of the lists in what is basically a macrofossil report happens to be a list of charcoal identifications, then this field allows this distinction to be recorded. The stype field is currently incomplete and may be deleted from future versions of the ABCD

IX. PROBS

...provides a means of recording any problems or additional information about any one identification

list: taxon list number
prob: problem code
note: details about the problem; for example the taxonomic name used in the report, a note about contamination, the level of identification or an explanation of the quantification codes

X. CHECKLIST

...gives a full, unique, list of plant names which occur in the database. It is used when inputting plant and in future versions the inclusion of a taxon code field will permit sorting of results into taxonomic or alphabetic order rather than the order determined by Paradox&reg; for alphanumeric fields

name: taxon name

XI. PARTS

...full list of the meanings of the abbreviations used in TAXLISTS for plant parts

part: three-letter code -- see TAXLISTS
part_name: explains part code

XII. COUNTIES and XIII. COUNTRY

...tables which provide 'translations' of the three-letter county code and one-letter country code fields in ABCDBIBS

XIV. ABCDBIBS

...the full bibliographic references are stored here (in the same structure as the EAB but with slightly altered field names):

repref: the reference to the archaeobotanical report, usually published within (and designated by the tag 'In:' at the end of the entry)
fullref: the main report (for some sites, the repref field is blank and the whole report title is given here)
journal: the journal or series in which the report was published
country: one-letter code: E = England, etc. (see COUNTRY)
county: three-letter code: DUR = Durham, etc. (see COUNTIES)

Lists of abbreviations used in various fields in the ABCD

Site conditions (at time of excavation, cond in ABSITES)

dr: dry (includes sites with 'waterlogged' preservation)
nr: not recorded
uw: underwater
wl: waterlogged (i.e. if very wet, such as wetland sites)
**: brief report; no details recorded

Types of report for reptype in ABREPRTS

c: charcoal/wood: concerned with charcoal and wood identifications only
g: cereal grain: individual identifications of, usually charred, cereals collected as 'spot' finds from the excavation
i: individual identifications: similar to 'g' reports but of non-cereal taxa collected as 'spot' finds
m: macrofossil reports: where actual 'samples' of sediment were taken from specified contexts and where there is usually additional information about 'sample' size, processing methods, and so on
p: pollen: usually pollen analysis carried out on the same material as the macrofossil work

Codes for datecodein REPLISTS

The codes are sorted here into alphabetical order (numbers, e.g. '15', are obviously 'century AD':

AS: Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian, Saxo-Norman or AD 850-1150
BA: Bronze Age (broad category)
BE: beaker (neolithic/early Bronze Age)
BI: Bronze Age/Iron Age transition
EB: early Bronze Age
EI: early Iron Age
EM: early medieval, i.e. AD 1150-1250 or mid C12th to mid C13th C AD
ER: early Roman ?C1st-2nd AD
ES: early Saxon or Dark Age, (depending on area) AD 400-650
HM: high medieval, i.e. AD 1250-1400 or mid C13th to beginning C15th
IA: Iron Age (broad category)
LB: late Bronze Age
LI: late Iron Age
LM: late medieval, i.e. AD 1400-1500 or beginning C15th to beginning C16th
LR: late Roman ?C3rd-4th AD
MB: middle Bronze Age
MD: medieval (broad category)
MI: mid Iron Age
ML: mesolithic
MO: modern, i.e. AD 1750 onwards
MR: mid Roman ?C2nd-3rd AD
MS: middle Saxon (including Anglian, Pictish) AD 650-850
ND: not dated, either because dating was too broad, too vague, not reported or impossible to achieve
NE: neolithic
PC: Pictish/Celtic/early Christian (outside Roman influence)
PH: prehistoric (very broad, for poorly-dated pre-Roman sites)
PM: post-medieval, i.e. AD 1500-1750 or beginning C16th to mid C18th
PR: post-Roman (includes cases where dating is very difficult)
RB: Romano-British, i.e. native British sites
RM: Roman, military sites only
RO: Roman (broad category)
SA: Saxon (broad category)

The datecode field is blank only where there are true missing data, i.e. if the information exists but has not been input

Types of site for sitetype in REPLISTS

The classification of site type will often vary through the archaeological sequence at a given site

Prehistoric

OS: open settlement
DS: defended settlement (i.e. hillfort, defended enclosure, broch)

Roman

Military

FS: fortress (i.e. legionary camp containing c. 6,000 men)
FR: fort (i.e. military camp smaller than a fortress, c. 500-1000 men)
ML: other military (e.g. signal stations)

Civilian (urban)

FT: founded town (i.e. Colonia, Municipia, Civitas capital)
ST: local centre (i.e. 'small towns')

Civilian (rural)

VL: villas (i.e. Romanised farmsteads)
NV: native (i.e. non-Romanised farmsteads and rural industrial sites)
VV: sites which might be either VL or NV

Medieval

MM: manor/moated site
FA: farm
MN: monastic
CN: castle
VI: village
TO: town
RP: royal palace
ID: industrial
MU: multi-type

Others (not period-defined)

BU: burial (cemetery, barrows)
NA: natural deposit
WR: wreck
RI: ritual site
ID: industrial

'Non-sites'

AR: where there is no information about a site, the plant material being related only to an artefact
SR: 'stray' find of plant material, no site information

List of abbreviations for parts of plants in the PARTS table

abs: leaf abscission scar/s or leaf scar/s
and: androecium/ia
ant: anther/s
awn: awn/s
bas: bast fibre/s
bds: bud/s and/or bud-scale/s
blb: bulb/s or bulblet/s (e.g. Allium sativum)
bra: bract/s and bracteole/s
bri: brittle rachis internode/s
brk: bark fragment/s
brn: bran fragment/s (cereal periderm)
bsc: bud-scale/s
cal: calyx/calyces
cap: capsule/s, fruit capsule/s
cat: catkin/s (e.g. Alnus)
chf: chaff fragment/s (not further specified)
cle: cleistogene/s (e.g. Danthonia)
clm: culm fragment/s, culm node/s, 'straw'
cns: cone-scale/s (e.g. Alnus/Betula/Pinus)
col: coleoptile (sprouted cereals)
con: cone (whole cone, e.g. Pinus spp.)
cor: core/s (Malus spp.)
cot: cotyledon/s
cpl: capsule lid/s (Leguminosae)
cps: capsule fragment/s (Viola/Linum)
cts: catkin-scale/s
cup: cupule/s or cupule fragment/s, (e.g. Quercus)
cwd: charred wood (charcoal)
ear: complete ear/s of cereal
emb: embryo of charred cereal/s
end: endocarp (Malus)
fct: female catkin-scale/s
fef: fruit epidermis fragment/s
fgt: fragment/s
flb: floret base/s (Avena)
flo: floret/s (Avena)
fls: flower/s
frs: fruitstone/s
frt: fruit/s (whole or part)
fun: fungus/fungi
glb: glume base/s
glm: glume/s
hai: hair/s
hil: hilum/hila (e.g. Vicia/Pisum)
imp: impression/s or cast/s in pottery/burnt daub
inf: inflorescence/s
inv: involucral bract/s (e.g. Centaurea)
lef: leaf epidermis fragment/s
lid: capsule/pod lid/s (Sphagnum, Trifolium)
lmb: lemma base/s (Avena)
lsh: leaf/leaves and/or shoot/s (mosses)
lvs: leaves
mct: male catkin-fragment/s
mes: fruit mesocarp fragment/s
mgs: megaspore/s
mos: mosses (unidentified)
mwd: mineralised wood
not: not specified (cf. '???')
nts: nutshell/s
oog: oogonium/oogonia (e.g. Chara)
pal: palea/ae
pds: pod segment/s (e.g. Raphanus)
ped: pedicel/s
per: perianth/s (e.g. Rumex)
pet: petal/s
pin: pinnule/frond fragment/s (e.g. Pteridium)
pip: pip/s (e.g. Malus/Pyrus)
pis: pistil base/s ('tori' of Vaccinium)
plt: plaited rope fragment/s (e.g. Polytrichum)
plu: plumule/s, from germinating cereal
pod: pod/s
pol: pollen grain/s or spore/s
pri: prickle/s
pro: propagule/s, 'seed/s'
ptc: perithecium/perithecia
rai: rachis internode/s (cereals)
ran: rachis node/s
rch: rachis/rachises, rachis fragment/s
rhi: rhizome/s or root/s
rsc: rachis/petiole scale/s (Filicales)
rtw: root/twig fragment/s
sch: Scheben (flax processing debris)
scl: fungal sclerotia (e.g. Cenococcum)
sef: stem epidermis fragment/s
sfr: seed fragment/s
sht: shoot fragment/s or tip/s
sil: siliqua/ae
slc: silica material, unspecified
spb: spikelet base/s
spf: spikelet fork/s
spi: spine/s (e.g. Ulex)
spk: spikelet/s, spikelet part/s
spn: sclerenchyma 'spindle/s' (Eriophorum vaginatum)
spo: sporangium/ia
sta: stalk/s, fruit stalk/s
stc: sterile cell/s (e.g. Valerianella)
std: stigmatic disk/s
sti: stipule/s
stm: stem fragment/s (non-cereal)
sto: stone cell/s
swd: seaweed (unidentified)
ten: tendril/s
tho: thorn/s
tri: tough rachis internode/s
trn: tough rachis node/s
tst: testa fragment/s
tub: tuber/s
tur: turion/s (vegetative bud in Potamogeton)
twi: twig/s
veg: vegetative fragment/s, unspecified
wwd: 'waterlogged' wood
???: not specified (cf. 'not')
?wd: wood, preservation unspecified
!!!: part is given in full in the PROBS table

Preservation of individual plant materials (pres in TAXLISTS)

a: anaerobic but not 'waterlogged'
c: charred
d: desiccated
i: impressions on pottery, daub, etc., or casts
m: mineralised
w: 'waterlogged'

Problem codes linking TAXLISTS and PROBS

N: where different taxonomic names have been used which makes the identification unclear; the name given in the report should appear in PROBS with an explanation if necessary
D: if the identification is doubtful (in the opinion of the compiler)
C: if the material is possibly a contaminant (according to original author's suggestion)
T: if a different taxonomy has been used from the ABCD checklist, but there is no particular problem with the identification
L: if the naming level is thought to be too precise when compared with current practice
S: if there are several problems relating to this taxon, listed separately in PROBS
A: where alternative names have been given in the report; the broadest identification level in TAXLISTS is usually inserted
Q: if the quantification is not actual numbers of individuals
P: if species are indicated as spp. or sp(p)., i.e. more than one species may be present, although they have not or cannot be distinguished; nothing needs to be added to PROBS
X: taxon is not on the checklist; the correct taxonomy will have to be checked before adding it to the checklist and before the data are loaded
!: a note about the identification
Ev: where the quantification is an estimated figure, for example if part of the sample was counted and then multiplied up to get an estimate of the whole
Z: only vernacular names were used in the report; these have been converted to Latin names before adding to the DB, using what is thought to be the most appropriate name

Main dating methods (method in CONTEXTS)

art: artefacts
cmb: combination
coi: coin
c14: radiocarbon assay
nr: not recorded
pot: pottery
str: stratigraphy

Codes used for context type (tycode in CONTEXTS)

ACCU: accumulations (including build-ups, layers, and dumps not directly associated with buildings)
CONS: building construction layers, trench fills, and walls
FBUR: fills of burials/cremations/tombs
FDIT: fills of ditches, moats, drains and gullies
FFIL: feature fills (not specified further)
FLAT: fills of latrines and garderobes
FPIT: pit fills and other layers within pits
FPOS: post-hole fills
FWEL: well fills
GRAN: deposits associated with granaries
MISC: miscellaneous, including unstratified
NATS: natural/semi-natural deposits such as buried soils
OCCF: occupation deposits thought to be floors
OCCU: occupation layers associated with buildings
OVHE: fills of, or layers in, ovens, hearths and kilns